Anger Management in Kansas: Court Services, Diversion and Your Class

A Kansas anger class can come from a city court, a county prosecutor, or a district judge. The statutes are different for each, but none of them names anger management. The judge or prosecutor picks it under a broad power to order "programs."

• Diversion with the county or district attorney. K.S.A. 22-2909 lets a diversion agreement include programs offering educational, social and psychological services. You sign the agreement, finish the terms, and the charge is dismissed. A class is a common term for fights, threats and property damage.
• Municipal court diversion. Cities run their own version under K.S.A. 12-4416, with the same kinds of program terms. For a city ordinance case in Wichita, Overland Park or Topeka, the city prosecutor writes the agreement.
• Probation under a court services officer. When a district judge grants probation, K.S.A. 21-6604 puts you under a court services officer. These officers work for the Kansas judicial branch, not the prison system. K.S.A. 21-6607 lets the officer recommend conditions and the court order them, including "assessment, treatment, programming and other directives of the court or the defendant's supervision officer."
• Assignment to community corrections. Higher-risk felony cases go to a community corrections agency, such as Sedgwick County's or Johnson County's. These are local agencies funded through the Kansas Department of Corrections. Your community corrections officer can also direct you to programs.
• Municipal probation. Larger city courts keep their own probation staff for misdemeanor sentences.

That last phrase in K.S.A. 21-6607, "directives of the ... supervision officer," matters. In Kansas, your officer can send you to a class even if the judge didn't spell it out, and can also say which kinds of class count.

Kansas has 31 judicial districts. A few hold most of the state's cases.

• Wichita (Sedgwick County, 18th District). District court probation runs through the district's court services office; felony cases needing closer watch go to Sedgwick County Community Corrections. Wichita Municipal Court handles city charges and has its own probation office, and the city prosecutor runs the diversion programs. The court hands out a sheet of non-domestic anger management providers that includes at least one online course. It says it does not endorse anyone on the sheet.
• Olathe and Overland Park (Johnson County, 10th District). Johnson County Court Services handles adult probation, presentence reports and pretrial supervision for the district court. The county also runs a separate Department of Corrections for community corrections cases. Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa and Shawnee each have their own municipal court.
• Topeka (Shawnee County, 3rd District). District court cases go to court services or Shawnee County Community Corrections; city cases go to Topeka Municipal Court.
• Kansas City, Kansas (Wyandotte County, 29th District). Not to be confused with Kansas City, Missouri, which has its own courts and rules. Wyandotte cases run through the Unified Government's municipal court or the 29th District Court.

If you aren't sure which court your case is in, look at the top of your paperwork. "Municipal Court of the City of..." and "District Court of ... County" lead to different people.

No. We found no Kansas agency that approves, certifies or lists anger management classes. The one certification system in this area is for batterer intervention programs, run by the Attorney General, and it covers domestic violence cases only.

What you may run into instead:

• Officer referral habits. Court services and community corrections officers often keep a handful of local counselors they send people to.
• Diversion packets. A county or city prosecutor's diversion agreement may name a provider or a type of program.
• In-house programs. Some community corrections agencies run their own cognitive groups. If you are placed in one, an outside class won't replace it.
• City court resource sheets. Wichita Municipal Court gives defendants a list of local anger management providers. The court says it does not endorse or recommend any of them, and that the list is meant to help people find a provider certified or licensed by the State of Kansas. Ask the court or your probation officer whether a class from outside the sheet can count.

Good Standing Courses is not on any Kansas court, prosecutor, court services or community corrections list. Your officer or the prosecutor decides whether our certificate meets your condition.

We found no Kansas statute, Supreme Court rule or statewide court services policy that bans online anger management classes or requires them to come from a list. The law leaves the choice of program to the judge, the prosecutor in a diversion, and your supervision officer.

How that tends to play out in Kansas:

• Court services officers have room to decide. Because the law lets the officer give programming "directives," many officers will accept an outside class if it fits the order. Some prefer local, in-person providers.
• Community corrections is stricter in practice. These agencies supervise higher-risk people and often use in-house or contracted programs. Expect more questions.
• Diversion agreements are contracts. If the agreement names a provider, use that provider. If it just says "anger management," ask the diversion coordinator whether online is fine before you start the clock.
• Domestic violence cases are closed to substitutes. Anything tied to a DV designation goes through a certified BIP.

What makes it easier for a Kansas officer or diversion coordinator to approve:

• A certificate showing the exact hours your agreement or order lists.
• Dates that show you worked through the material over time, not in a single sitting the night before a deadline.
• A verification page they can check themselves.
• A short written yes from them before you enroll, saved on your phone.

Kansas law sets no hours for anger management. The number comes from the agreement, the order, or the officer.

• 8 hours: a frequent figure in municipal and county diversion agreements for a first, non-domestic offense. Low confidence; based on what providers offer, not a Kansas rule.
• 12 hours: common when a district court probation order asks for "anger management" without more. Low confidence.
• Weekly groups for several months: typical of counseling agencies and of anything recommended after a domestic violence assessment. Those are a different program.

If your paperwork has no number, ask your officer or diversion coordinator before you start.